If he was going to be honest with himself - really, really honest with himself - the truth was that he was terrified of going down into that cavern where the weapons were kept. He'd heard some talk, heard some things he wasn't sure how to respond to. The weapon would bond with him. Be in his head and s**t. That was scary. It wasn't really a stable place to be, not after the things he'd seen, the things he'd done. Tuck wasn't sure he was ready for all that s**t. If it had just been him, maybe he'd have second-guessed himself by this point.

It wasn't just him anymore. Gnat was here, too, and because Gnat was here, he couldn't run away. He wouldn't let himself run. It was time to man up.

He'd run enough.

There was something chilling about the spiralling curvature of the stairs that led him down, down, down into the cavern. A soft glow here, a glint there. He kept one hand pressed to the wall as he worked his way down. Focused on the texture of the wall, the sounds his footsteps made as he continued forward. It was silent, deafeningly so, and Theodore paused as he came to the bottom of the archaic stairs that had brought him to this point.

As he stood there in relative silence, just soaking in his surroundings, there came a sound. A soft rumble, nearly gentle. Curious in pitch and tone, inquisitive and definitively male.

"The ********," the young man murmured to himself as he moved further into the cavernous room.

<This one can hear Herryk?>

Theodore froze in his steps, blinking as he gazed around the room with wide golden eyes. He'd known that such a thing would happen in here, he simply hadn't… well, he hadn't been ready for it. Nothing could prepare him for the alien sound of a stranger's voice vibrating loudly in his head. And the way it spoke…

<Herryk has always had this way of speech.>

…in his thoughts.

He wasn't ready for this s**t.

<Come. Herryk tires of being stuck in this dark, lonely place. It is filled with despair. Herryk is ready.>

Tuck swallowed, his throat working as he debating using his voice or his thoughts.

Your name is Herryk?

There was a boisterous laugh. It was one that seemed comfortable - genuine. It did not sound rusty or underused, but familiar in an odd sort of way. Almost as if the weapon was used to such laughter, and Tuck couldn't help but give a hesitant smile.

<Yes. Herryk. And you are Theodore, yes? Tuck? Who is this Gnat? She is special to you, hmm?>

Yeah, I'm Tuck. TJ. Theodore - Gnat? My sister. Tuck paused briefly, glancing around the room as he rubbed the back of his head. Where are you?

A portion of the wall a short distance away seemed to glow brightly, drawing the tall, broadly built trainee to it. A strong emotion thrummed through Tuck's mind, possessive and powerful. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he'd lucked out. He moved towards the flash in the darkness, the weapon's presence pulling at him, drawing him closer and closer. As he drew up on the tablet, Theodore paused, just for a moment.

Lifting a wide hand, Theodore allowed his fingers to drift over the weapon tablet. A quick tug brought the tablet into his waiting hands.

<Yes.>

A quick flash of light, a veritable pulse of energy that seemed to vibrate up into his hands, his arms, his core. When it was finished, Tuck clutched a broad, two-handed axe within his hands. The blue runes flashed and glinted across the surface of the axe. Three more stones gently tinked against the finely honed weapon, and a broad, beaming smile flashed across Tuck's face.

A proud, almost obnoxious sensation wrenched deep in the back of Tuck's thoughts. The trainee's smile grew.

This won't be so bad, will it, Herryk?

<This will not be so bad at all, Theodore.>

The weapon, Herryk, flashed for a brief moment before Tuck felt the presence of a ring on the middle finger of his left hand. The runes across the surface of the ring flashed briefly before everything seemed to settle.

Everything seemed to fit, just so. He could look after Gnat while she was here right under his nose. Their parents would be fine. They'd always been survivors. He couldn't think about them now, at any rate. He had a greater purpose now. A reason to move forward. After all, someone needed to save the world.

Might as well be us, right?

<What is life if it is lived without such a purpose, Tuck?>

Nothing.

It was nothing at all.